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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26553295">Who Needs Best Friends, Anyway?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MollyRenata/pseuds/MollyRenata'>MollyRenata</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Coming Out, Dorks, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Suggestive Themes, that's a lot of ship tags, they're both bi disasters, yosuke/chie is the main one though</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:34:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,100</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26553295</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MollyRenata/pseuds/MollyRenata</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Yosuke comes out to his best friend, he ends up sorely disappointed.</p><p>Thankfully, he's not the only one.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hanamura Yosuke/Satonaka Chie, mentioned Amagi Yukiko/Labrys, mentioned Minazuki Sho/Narukami Yu/Kujikawa Rise, one-sided Hanamura Yosuke/Narukami Yu, one-sided Satonaka Chie/Amagi Yukiko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Who Needs Best Friends, Anyway?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Fun fact: Yosuke/Chie is actually my OTP. They're just absolutely precious in the spinoffs (not so much in the main game, but let's not go into that). With this in mind, I *had* to write something for them.</p><p>...And of course I inserted my other ships because I'm completely shameless. Sorry, not sorry!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>As always, fate seemed to have a grudge against one Yosuke Hanamura, son of the Yasoinaba Junes' manager, part-time employee and now college student, who still regularly crashed his bike and found himself stuck in the most <em>unpleasant</em> situations.</p><p>For quite some time now, he had been harboring feelings he tried desperately to deny - feelings for his best friend, Yu Narukami, who always came to visit town during the summer. Yu was pursuing his own higher education now, but he <em>always</em> made time for his friends, and that more recently included a certain red-haired punk kid who'd tried to end the world once.</p><p>Yosuke still couldn't stand that guy, less so now that he and Yu were dating. How <em>dare</em> he swoop in and steal the man of Yosuke's dreams-</p><p>Okay, <em>that</em> was pushing it a little far. But still, since Yu was apparently okay with a poly arrangement, and Rise didn't have a problem with him dating boys, what was wrong with <em>Yosuke?</em> The two of them were <em>best friends,</em> for crying out loud - what more could a guy ask for in a romance? Surely he was <em>leagues</em> better than <em>Sho?</em></p><p>Yet, when Yosuke had admitted that he'd been denying his own feelings, Yu had politely turned him down, complete with an apology. He'd said he "didn't feel that way" and that Yosuke was his "best friend, but nothing more". It stung like hell, and even though Yu had tried to let him down lightly, that didn't change the fact that Yosuke just wanted to hide away in his room and cry.</p><p>Maybe he <em>should.</em> Maybe since he'd finally admitted that he liked guys too, it'd be <em>appropriate</em> for him to do something stupid and girly like that. He wasn't much of a <em>man</em> anymore, was he?</p><p>...He needed to talk to someone, to just <em>get his feelings out</em> - but who to call? Yu was out of the question. Rise would probably just make fun of him. Kanji... <em>yeah,</em> he couldn't talk about this stuff with <em>Kanji.</em> Yukiko would laugh at him. Naoto wouldn't understand. Teddie was <em>Teddie.</em> And Chie...</p><p>Actually, Chie might get it. Sure, she found Yosuke annoying more often than not, but the two had engaged in a deep emotional talk once or twice, and out of the entire team, he trusted her not to judge him more than anyone else. The question was, as always - was she in the mood to talk about something this heavy?</p><p>It couldn't hurt to try- <em>yeah,</em> Yosuke had told himself the same thing before confessing to Yu, and look how <em>that</em> had turned out. Still, life had already crushed his hopes and dreams once today. The impact would be a lot less the second time.</p><p>He picked up his phone, and before he could even bring up Chie's number... she was calling him. What the hell? That was a <em>seriously</em> freaky coincidence - but it <em>did</em> save him a bit of trouble. He picked up, put the phone to his ear, and-</p><p>Wait, was she <em>crying?</em></p><p>"Y-Yosuke, I..." Yep, Chie was <em>definitely</em> crying. "You've- you've gotta hear me out, okay? Please, I'm... I'm <em>begging</em> you..."</p><p>That answered the question of whether or not she was in the mood to talk about something heavy. Yosuke breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Hey, what's wrong?"</p><p>"It's- it's- it's Yukiko..." Chie made some incomprehensible noise on the other end of the line, and after another sniffle, her voice became clearer. "...Okay, so, um. I-I mean, I've... I've always kinda liked her... like <em>that,</em> y'know? So... so I went and, and I told her, and... and she said that no, she's already in a relationship..."</p><p>"Wait, <em>really?</em>" Yosuke hadn't heard this - then again, Yukiko kept to herself a lot, at least when it came to him. "Uh... just in the interest of curiosity, who's she with?"</p><p>Chie sniffled again. "...She's dating Labrys. <em>Labrys!</em> Yukiko's girlfriend isn't even human - she's dating a <em>robot!</em> And she never told me that!" She seemed agitated now. "I thought I was supposed to be her <em>best friend,</em> and- and she never even told me she was going out with someone, or who that someone was! And it's not like she isn't into girls, so... so..."</p><p>Chie sounded about as miserable as Yosuke felt. He could relate to her experience - finally admitting to having a crush on your best friend, only for them to turn you down. Maybe it'd help a little if he shared his own story with her.</p><p>"Well, I dunno about the whole 'dating a robot' thing, but..." Yosuke took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to say. "Shouldn't you at least <em>try</em> to be happy for her?" He paused, and shook his head. "...That's what I <em>want</em> to say, but I'm... kinda going through the same thing right now."</p><p>"...Huh?" That caught Chie's attention - she switched gears quickly, as always. "Wait, <em>really?</em> You don't mean..."</p><p>"Yeah... I have a thing for my best friend, too." Admitting it still felt alien to Yosuke, even though he had spent quite some time coming to terms with his feelings already. "I, um... I told Yu. I thought he'd be cool with it, since... well, you know his relationship status... but he said no. He only sees me as a friend... so I understand how you feel."</p><p>"I didn't think you were into guys," Chie said, as if that was the <em>only</em> thing she'd gotten from all that. She was frustrating as always, but at the same time...</p><p>"I didn't think I was, either," Yosuke admitted, and he felt his face getting hot. "But apparently, I was wrong... and the worst part is, the guy I like... he's into guys too, but he isn't into <em>me.</em> He's really living the dream of swinging both ways... and leaving me behind..."</p><p>"Yosuke..." An edge of sympathy crept into Chie's voice. "Geez, I didn't realize... we really have a lot in common, don't we?" She paused, and then-</p><p>"Hey, why don't we try going out with each other?"</p><p>A gut punch. Yosuke could <em>never</em> have anticipated that, not in a million years - a suggestion like <em>that,</em> from <em>Chie</em> of all people, and right after talking to each other about how they'd both been rejected by their best friends. Did it count as a rebound relationship if neither of them had actually gone out with anyone before? More importantly...</p><p>"...Don't you like girls?" The words came out of Yosuke's mouth before he could think about what he'd said, and he realized immediately how stupid he sounded. It was possible to like both boys and girls - he and Yu were living proof - and he doubted Chie would've made the suggestion if she wasn't also interested in guys.</p><p>"I like guys too," Chie answered him, nailing the point home. "You... do still like girls, right?"</p><p>"<em>Duh,</em>" Yosuke responded, without missing a beat. "...Actually, now that I think about it, you'd be the best of both worlds. You're a girl, but you act so much like a guy that it's hard to tell the difference sometimes."</p><p>"You jerk," Chie muttered, indignant. "And here I was seriously thinking of going out with you. If I'm too <em>boyish</em> for your tastes, just say so."</p><p>...Wait, <em>seriously?</em> That <em>hadn't</em> just been a joke to lighten the mood? Yosuke had been trying to convince himself of that, and then Chie - as she <em>always</em> did - threw him a curveball. Now he felt like an asshole for picking on her like that.</p><p>"Oh, uh... <em>sorry.</em>" Yosuke wasn't terribly convinced by his own apology - he'd meant it sincerely, but it didn't come off quite as he'd intended it to. "I-I didn't think... um, you were really serious about... you know, going out with me?"</p><p>He expected her to get on his case more, but to his surprise, Chie went quiet for a long moment before she replied. "...Yeah. I was serious. I actually... kinda like you too, you know?"</p><p><em>That</em> was a confession Yosuke would <em>never</em> have expected. With how much they always annoyed each other, he thought Chie only <em>tolerated</em> him - and yet, here she was, effectively saying that she liked him as much as she liked her best friend.</p><p>Still, as surprising as it was, it also came as somewhat of a relief. He'd been loath to admit it, but Yosuke did find Chie attractive on some level; she wasn't girly like the other girls he thought were cute, but there was an undeniable appeal in her spunky attitude and her unstoppable optimism. Not to mention, in a physical sense, she wasn't bad looking - kind of average up top, but her legs were like something out of a dream, and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't imagined getting crushed between them a couple times-</p><p><em>Whoa,</em> okay, that was <em>not</em> the kind of thing he needed to be thinking about right now. Yosuke shook his head in an effort to clear the filthy thoughts, and cleared his throat before he spoke up again.</p><p>"...I just wanna make it clear that I'm not saying yes 'cuz I'm desperate. I... kinda like you too, and... I wouldn't mind going out with you, if you're okay with that."</p><p>"I dunno, that sounded pretty suspicious..." Chie sounded as if she barely believed him, but she hummed her affirmation anyway. "Why don't you prove it to me? Take me out to lunch tomorrow! I want-"</p><p>"All the steak you can eat," Yosuke interrupted her, knowing <em>exactly</em> what to say. "I know a <em>great</em> place in Okina... it's a little pricey, but I've saved up enough to spoil you a little. How about it?"</p><p>"Yeah, that sounds great!" Chie's enthusiasm was <em>always</em> a beautiful thing, but right now, it felt better than ever to hear her like this. "Thanks, Yosuke! You're the best boyfriend I could've ever asked for!"</p><p>...Boyfriend, huh. Yeah, Yosuke could get behind that - being Chie's boyfriend. To think something like <em>this</em> was the trigger for them getting closer to each other... not that he was <em>complaining,</em> of course. This was the best thing that had <em>ever</em> happened to him, as far as he could recall.</p><p>"Just don't get too worked up," Yosuke told her, and he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face - he wished she could see it. "It'd really suck if you stayed up all night, slept in, and missed your opportunity... right?"</p><p>"You're <em>such</em> a dumbass," Chie retorted, though her joy had not dissipated - he suspected that she was smiling, too. "...Hey, Yosuke. I mean it... thanks for everything. I feel a lot better now."</p><p>"Yeah, me too..." Maybe it wasn't the <em>right</em> way to respond, but Yosuke had his own thoughts on the matter. "Thanks for letting me talk to you about this, Chie. I mean it."</p><p>"You can talk to me about this stuff anytime, okay?" Chie's voice sounded softer this time, and her heartfelt offer caused tears to prickle at the corners of Yosuke's eyes. "I might still make fun of you for it, but I won't judge you or anything." She paused, and just like that, she was back to her usual hyperactive self. "Anyway, I'm gonna go get ready for bed. G'night, Yosuke!"</p><p>"Good night, Chie," Yosuke said, and he waited until the line dropped dead before he put his phone down. What a day this had been - a hell of an emotional rollercoaster, with both nasty lows and amazing highs. If nothing else, it had ended on a positive note, so...</p><p>Just this once, Yosuke allowed himself to cry. He wasn't sure if it was from pain or joy - he just knew that he couldn't hold the tears back anymore, and he was sure that if Chie heard him like this, she'd probably tease him for it. He kind of <em>wanted</em> her to tease him for it, really.</p><p>Maybe next time. He was sure this wouldn't be the last time they got into an emotional conversation, and now, a small part of him looked forward to next time, as weird as that sounded. He just wanted to share <em>everything</em> with her - sorrow and happiness alike.</p><p>His feelings for his best friend, unrequited though they were, hadn't changed. In the depths of his heart, he still hadn't forgotten Saki, no matter how painful it was to remember her - but he knew that he <em>had</em> to move on, and who better to do that with than someone who felt his pain as her own?</p><p>When the tears stopped falling, for the first time in a long while, Yosuke felt <em>content.</em></p><hr/><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have. So many feelings about Yosuke. I love this boy with everything I have and I only want the best for him. After the hell he's been through, he deserves to be happy.</p><p>This idea has been floating around for a while, but I decided to finally put it down on paper. This also means I've covered all but one of my main ships for Persona 4 - maybe I'll work on the last one next?</p></blockquote></div></div>
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